If you had to ask any one of my cousins what their favourite holiday was, they’d all unanimously reply: The Wildnerness. It was 1996 and I was 11 years old. It was the first time that my mother and her sisters decided that we would all go on holiday together, so all of the cousins were in a right state at the thought of spending so much time together.

When you’re 11 your world is really small and getting to spend an entire week with all your cousins seems like a dream come true. We even got our own hotel room! And oh, what fun we had.

Well, we did after the Caravelle broke down in the sweltering heat in the middle of nowhere called Heidelberg. To this day we hate Heidelberg, even though it really wasn’t the dusty little town’s fault. So my parents drove back and crammed 5 children in the backseat of a Toyota, all the way to the Wildnerness.

We were hot, sticky and miserable by the time we arrived. Luckily 2 of the other cousins were already booked into the hotel and had discovered the free ice machine one floor below ours. There were many trips downstairs and so the holiday of a lifetime was had. We were down on the beach every single day, coming back a little sunburned, completely tired but happy.

I was happy until my father sprung the unfortunate news that we’d be separating from the clan for 2 days to go to a place called the Caboose in Knysna. I was so upset at getting separated from the fun that I proceeded to threw up the entire first night we were there. I was 11, don’t judge me.

But then we rejoined the family and all was well again. And after we had completed that massive sandcastle all the unhappiness was forgotten. Back then it really was the simple things that kept us happy, just being together on the beach and making memories. And maybe some ice cream. That’s what childhood holidays are made of.What is your favourite childhood holiday memory?

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